Septain Raharja: Footballer dies after being struck by lightning during match in Indonesia

A footballer has been killed after being struck by lightning whilst playing in Indonesia. Shocking video captured the moment Septain Raharja, 35, collapsed at Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung, West Java on Saturday afternoon (February 10).

Raharja was playing in a friendly football match between 2 FLO FC Bandung and FBI Subang, when lightning struck him at around 4.20pm local time. According to local media, PRFM News, he was still breathing after the incident and was rushed to a local hospital, but died after suffering intense burns.

According to reports by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the cloud the lightning came from was just 300m above the stadium when it struck.

An eyewitness told a news outlet Detik.com that people in the stadium dropped to the ground in fear for their lives when the lightning hit. The unconscious victim was carried to the side of the field, the witness said, adding that the man had a reddish-black wound on his chest and his cleats had caught fire.

This is not the first time that such type of incident has happened in Indonesia. In November, a young football player taking part in an under-15 competition was also struck by lightning in Indonesia, while another man was reportedly killed by lightning strikes mid-match in West Jave in 2022.

In the UK, a 12-year-old boy was left in a serious but stable condition after he and a man were struck by lightning at a football match at The Sele School in Hertford in October 2023.